Surprise! We hopped out of Genesis and into Job. (Which I really wish was spelled Jobe (with an E) instead of looking like the thing you do from 9 to 5.)

The reason for said hop is because 1) this 2-year Bible reading plan is chronological and 2) the man Job(e) seems to have lived in the time following the Flood and perhaps at the same time as Abraham so that’s where we go next. Why do we think that this is where Job fits? One name, first found in Genesis 10:23. You may have skimmed over it in that long list of who begat who. The man’s name was Uz. Now if you said something that sounded like “buzz” let me inform you of the delightful and correct way to pronounce his name. It’s oots. I kid you not. Basically “boots”, but without the B. Oots. Is that not so much more fun to say than uuhz? Uz, (oots) was the grandson of Shem, great-grandson of Noah. He apparently settled an area “in the East” and people called it “The Land of Uz,” (which I have just realized looks disturbingly close to The Land of Oz.) The book of Job begins thusly:

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Now, before we venture further, let’s remember that this is not your typical historical narrative. Job is wisdom literature with poetic dialog. It’s the longest Hebrew poem known. Forget rhythmic meter and rhymes that sound alike. These lines have rhyming, contrasting, and compounding ideas. It’s the thoughts that rhyme.

The book opens with a quick sketch of Job’s situation: 10 kids (7 sons, 3 daughters), they all get along and love to visit and have dinner together, Job has a LOT of livestock. He’s basically Ben Cartwright of Bonanza. The Land of Uz is The Ponderosa. He’s got so much land he needs his own map. He’s a good man, respected, wealthy, powerful.

Then all of a sudden we’re standing shoulder to shoulder in a crowd of angelic beings in some kind of heavenly conference. It almost feels like a troop inspection. Angels at attention. YHWH walks among the ranks and stops in front of a unique character; an entity called “The Opponent.” Literally, “The Satan”- it’s a title, not a name). YHWH asks where he came from. “Going to and fro in the earth” is the reply. “Have you considered my servant Job?, says YHWH. By the time the brief exchange is over, The Opponent has permission to do anything he wants to Job’s possessions but his body is off limits.

Then we’re back on earth to witness the worst day in Job’s life. All of his livestock are killed or captured and his children – all ten of them – are killed in a single catastrophe.

Job’s reaction to this is absolutely staggering. He worships YHWH. Instead of shaking a fist at the heavens and demanding “Why?!” Job dresses himself in mourning attire and worships YHWH. He does not blame God for this life-altering loss.

Then we get zipped back into the heavenlies for another inspection day. YHWH brags about Job’s integrity to The Opponent. The Satan pushes back, claiming that it’s no big deal for Job to be righteous when the suffering is not in his own body. YHWH grants permission for The Satan to attack Job’s body, but is not allowed to kill him.

Next we see Job covered in boils. It’s what modern medical science calls a staph infection. (Thank you, WebMD) He’s using a sharp pottery shard to lance and drain them.

Now, here’s something interesting. Job doesn’t make excuses for YHWH or say what we post-moderns say- “Well, you know we live in a fallen world and bad things just happen. It doesn’t mean God allowed it.” Job’s worldview seems to include both notions that Yes, YHWH is good and just and worthy of worship AND, Yes, YHWH allows catastrophes to happen to good people.” He says to his wife (who basically wishes him dead… ouch):

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”
‭‭Job‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The word “evil” here means simply “bad,” “not good,” “unpleasant,” as opposed to wickedness.

I’m honestly not sure what to do with Job’s worldview. It challenges me. I sit here holding it. Like a live grenade.

I think that the author C.S. Lewis was getting at this in The Chronicles of Narnia when he describes Aslan the Lion. Permit me to share the scene here:

“Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

YHWH is good. But not safe. He cannot be manipulated or controlled by anyone. He is not a tame lion. He answers to no one but His own promises and integrity.

Have the martyred saints of the ages taught us nothing? Cannot the Almighty allow both good and evil to befall us for His higher purpose? Cannot He permit suffering and still be good?

These are heavyweight ideas. I freely own that to even blog about them, I am far out of my theological weight class. But if I can help us (even a little) to wrestle with them and come away with a bit more clarity on the overall message, then I’m willing to try.

At the end of Job chapter 2, his 3, (nay, 4), friends visit to condole with him over his tragedy. For the next many chapters they will take turns waxing philosophic about the nature of man and God, sin and suffering.

• Tip 1 – don’t assume that any of them are 100% right. The speakers are reflecting their worldviews. Spoiler alert: Some of those worldviews are wrong. We will find that out when God shows up and says so. That’s why it’s risky to quote platitudes from Job. Best leave those alone.
• Tip 2 – we’re going to have to do something that insta-info-age people don’t do well anymore: CONCENTRATE. We’ll get a whole chapter (or two) of argument, then usually the next section (of equal length) will be a rebuttal. That’s a lot for people who have come to have the attention span of a gnat. Heaven help.

If Job was easy, everyone would read it and quote it like Psalms. It’s not. But we need it. We need to wrestle with these hard ideas.

What do we really believe about God? It’s easy to say, “God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.” But what about when cancer happens? Or an accident? War? Pandemic? Inflation? Death? An innocent person suffering? Do we backpedal? Continue to spout what we’re expected to say without being sure we even believe it?

Let us pray that as we read this challenging piece of ancient literature in the coming days, we will have the courage to revisit the losses and painful events of our own lives (and our reactions to them). Perhaps, by the end of the Job’s story we will, by God’s grace, be able to reframe the events of our own stories in a much MUCH larger context- a picture that includes all of time, all creation, the heavenly host, and most importantly, the innocent suffering of Christ Himself.