“If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience. And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived. [Job 15.17-19]
Eliphaz the Temanite made the statement above. Based on conventional knowledge and experience of man, what Eliphaz said here seems sound...
I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday (I Hit A Nerve In Myself) regarding the book of Job: no matter my understanding of it, there is truth within its story. Everything that is necessary to understand the book of Job is contained within its long and arduous narrative.
And so, based on what has been said here, I am forced to consider everything Job said in the light of what God later said about what Job said (notice following phrases made bold):
After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the LORD commanded them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer. [Job 42.7-9]
If Job indeed spoke in accuracy about God (according to God's own words), what is it then that God rebuked Job for?
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? [Job 38.2]
How is it that Job spoke accurately with ignorant words? The answer to this question could be key to understanding the entirety of Job's story...
The King James Version of God's opening rebuke of Job may shed some light:
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? [Job 38.2 KJV]
Job darkened the counsel of God's Word by his own words devoid of knowledge. This brings us back to the subject passage above. Job was relying on his own experience (up to this point) and (obviously) the reports of wise men (his friends) that yielded nothing but a confusing circular argument among what should have cumulatively been quite the "think-tank" of human wisdom.
Somehow, Job's engagement with his friends is where Job's indiscretion lay even though what he said was deemed accurate by God. How might Job's story have been written had, after the seven days and nights of silent mourning, Job's friends all went home and left Job with his original words that were declared sinless (Job 1.22 & Job 2.10)? Would there have been a third interaction between God and Satan where God said, "See, I told you so..."? which, by itself should lead us to another question...
Since God had to rebuke Job, does that mean that Satan was right? Oh boy, now we are getting somewhere! As emphatically as may be conveyed, "NO, Satan was not right!" In fact, God initiated the whole narrative with Satan for a reason! We MUST understand that reason was that God knew that beneath the otherwise blameless demeanor of Job lay a dormant self-righteous pride that must be dealt with. It is entirely possible (even probable) that God was using sarcasm with Satan (as is found elsewhere in Job) in the following:
Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” [Job 1.8]
In this process, God would also prove to Satan that he (Satan) had been a "slacker" on his job (patrolling the earth...). The fact that Satan could not know Job's heart served to prove God's infinite superiority over Satan thus signifying his (even his) complete dependence upon God and God alone.
But, back to Job and his friends... Indeed, what Job said, according to God, was accurate. His arrogance and pride in arguing with his friends, even though what he said was right, was still based only on human knowledge and experience which, compared to God... well, let's just say, got Job rebuked. Job's friends' argument, however steeped in the same deficit of human knowledge and experience, was short on accuracy, but still provided ample fodder for their confusing circular argument.
Is there a concrete lesson from Job's story? Of course there is! However, any attempt (including my own) to dogmatically declare that lesson from a position of superior knowledge or experience puts the 'declarer' in the exact same position as Job. Imagine that.
Father, I would love to skip the suffering and repentance part of Job's story (albeit temporary) in my own life and just stay in Your blessings. However, I know Your Kingdom is YOURS, and so, what I think and want is subject first to that fact. I also understand that I don't know my own heart - only You know what is in there, and, it's not good. May I have Job's original attitude (before his proud argument with his friends) of complete submission to You. May I also be found with Job's final attitude interceding for my friends. And, in the middle, may I be convicted of hidden pride and arrogance leading me to repentance - giving up the idol of my own way (including my own knowledge and experience), taking up my cross, and following Jesus. So be it.
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