From the Daily Lectionary for Thursday in the Fourteenth Week after Pentecost
Job 29:1; 31:1-23
Job again took up his discourse and said:
“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
how then could I look upon a virgin?
What would be my portion from God above,
and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
Does not calamity befall the unrighteous,
and disaster the workers of iniquity?
Does he not see my ways,
and number all my steps?
“If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit—
let me be weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!—
if my step has turned aside from the way,
and my heart has followed my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands;
then let me sow, and another eat;
and let what grows for me be rooted out.
“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;
then let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her.
For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be a criminal offense;
for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my harvest.
“If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves,
when they brought a complaint against me;
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the orphan has not eaten from it—
for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor person without covering,
whose loins have not blessed me,
and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
if I have raised my hand against the orphan,
because I saw I had supporters at the gate;
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.”
We step away from John’s Gospel today, and read from the Book of Job. Job is the most intriguing piece of literature to me in the whole of Hebrew scripture. The story of Job existed long before the words of scripture were set to writing. What makes it so important in the canon of Hebrew scripture is that it is a direct challenge to the theology of the Deuteronomistic historian.
The Deuteronomistic historian is the collective name given to the scribes of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. In these foundational books the theology of the Covenant between God and God’s people Israel is articulated. It is a simple quid pro quo: Remain faithful to me, Yahweh, and receive blessing; or, forsake me and my teachings and be cursed. Throughout the Pentateuch we see this dynamic play out. When Israel is faithful, good things happen; when they “backslide,” then they receive punishment. This, of course, is an ancient resolution to the problematic question of theodicy: If God is good, and God says that the world God has made is good; then why is there suffering and evil in the world? The dominant theology in the vast sweep of Hebrew scripture hangs on Covenant theology. Except for the Book of Job.
Job, as the besieged protagonist in his legendary saga, represents the obedient Israel. He is upright and just. He has followed God’s laws. He is the model of faithfulness…. And yet, he suffers all manner of calamity. It’s Karma in reverse for Job. So the question arises: Why do bad things happen to good people? …A question avoided in Covenant theology.
The passage above is Job’s final angry defense to God’s sending all manner of calamity on his most faithful servant. Job stands before God, not as a groveling supplicant, but as a man full of reasonable humanity, justifiably angry, and demands an accounting as to why. Why, if the world you have made is good, why is there such suffering in it? This is a challenge to the very soul of Judaism. It is a challenge to the God of all religions.
God’s answer comes next. Spoken from a whirlwind. It is not what one would expect. It is the most we hear from God in the whole of scripture. So stay tuned, good people…. Perhaps with an imaginative ear we may hear at least some truth of this great mystery…. Until then….
A Prayer for Knowledge of God’s Creation (BCP p. 827)
Everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we encounter the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
