Sermon for October 7th, 2012
Consider Job
1There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.
Let's stop here for a moment. The Book of Job begins with a classic storybook opening: "Once upon a time..." or "Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." But is it really a story, told in narrative format like Genesis, or like the Gospels? If you turn the page in your bibles, you'll see that the narrative part actually ends with chapter two. Then there are thirty-nine chapters of poetry, dialogue, and philosophical speeches until the last chapter, chapter forty-two, where the narrative picks back up just in time for the happy ending. Except for those three chapters, Job is not like Genesis or Matthew.
The Book of Job actually belongs to the genre of writing known as "wisdom literature" along with Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. Wisdom literature, at the risk of being obvious, is primarily concerned with the pursuit of wisdom. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job all three attempt to answer, each in its own unique way, the question posed in Job 28:12--"But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?"
These three books are among my favorites in the whole bible. I have a theory that Proverbs is "Wisdom for Beginners," the Book of Job is "Intermediate Wisdom," and Ecclesiastes is "Advanced Wisdom for People Who Have Lived a Long Time." Obviously, I'm not prepared to teach you Ecclesiastes yet, so that will have to wait. But I'd like to give you a really quick crash course in Proverbs and then move on to the "intermediate wisdom" of the Book of Job. First, let's read a few more verses:
That man (Job) was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ This is what Job always did.
Up to this point in the story, Job is the textbook model for the kind of wisdom we find in the book of Proverbs. Where shall wisdom be found? Proverbs 9:10 famously says that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Throughout the book of Proverbs is the idea that the righteous will prosper and the wicked will be punished...not in the next life, but right here in this one. And so far, we see that principle at work in the Book of Job: Job fears the Lord, turns from evil, and in return, God has richly blessed him. Proverbs wisdom is as simple as A+B=C. Got it? Good, you've graduated! Let's move on to intermediate wisdom, where things get a little more complicated.
6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ 8The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.’ 9Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ 12The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Some rather sticky things to notice here: First, God initiates this whole business, by saying "Have you considered my servant Job?" It's a little like when a teacher says to her class, "Have you all noticed what a super A+ student Johnny is?" High praise, but it usually doesn't turn out so well for Johnny on the playground later that day. God just made Job a target. Another sticky thing to notice: God says that Job is upright and blameless--in other words, God sees and acknowledges that Job is an innocent man! And then God proceeds to authorize everything that is about to happen to Job. So much for the Proverbs thesis that righteousness = blessing.
13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 16While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 17While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 18While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.’
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped. 21He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
2One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ 3The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ 4Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. 5But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ 6The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.’
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.’ 10But he said to her, ‘You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
