Job Makes His Defense—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 21B (Job 23)

 

William Blake

Job 23 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

23 Then Job answered:

“Today also my complaint is bitter;
    his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my case before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me
    and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No, but he would give heed to me.
There the upright could reason with him,
    and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.

“If I go forward, he is not there;
    or backward, I cannot perceive him;
on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
    I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
    when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have treasured his words in my bosom.
13 But he stands alone, and who can dissuade him?
    What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he appoints for me,
    and many such things are in his mind.
15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
    the Almighty has terrified me.
17 If only I could vanish in darkness,
    and thick darkness would cover my face!

                *****************

                The Book of Job opens with God making a wager with Satan, who serves as one of God’s prosecutors/investigators. The wager has to do with the righteousness of God’s servant Job. What happens next is horrifying. That’s because God gives Satan permission to torment Job just to prove a point. Despite all the attacks on Job, he remains loyal to God (Job 1-2). In the chapters that follow Job is visited by several friends who at first try to comfort Job, but then turn on him when Job refuses to admit being at fault. Job pleaded innocence and that didn’t make the friends very happy because in doing so he challenged their understanding of the way the world worked. Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people, so Job, despite his pleas of innocence, must have done something wrong.

As I noted in my previous reflection, the Book of Job does raise questions about the nature of God and God’s relationship with creation. In reading Job, we encounter the perennial question of why, if God is good, evil exists. One answer has been that we bring upon ourselves the evil we deserve, but how do we explain the fact that good people suffer, and bad people seem not to suffer? We often turn to Job for a different perspective.

We pick up the story in Job 23. Job offers his defense after Eliphaz has accused Job of great wickedness. Eliphaz tells Job to “agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you . . . If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored, if you remove unrighteousness from your tents” (Job 22:21, 23). Having heard Eliphaz’s call for Job to repent of his great wickedness—and Eliphaz lays out numerous charges that represent Job’s wickedness, for “there is no end to your iniquities” (Job. 22:5)—Job makes his defense.

               Job begins his defense in Job 23 by letting Eliphaz (and God) know that he is bitter because God’s “hand is heavy despite my groaning” (Job 23:2). Job wants to go before his judge and make his defense, filling his mouth with arguments. He wanted to know what his judge’s response would be. In other words, he’s had enough of the accusations made against him by his so-called friends. Job asks whether God would contend with him in the greatness of God’s power. Yes, God might be powerful, even omnipotent (I’m not sure the author of Job would go that far), but Job is confident that God would heed his defense. If only he could stand before his judge and make his defense, he is quite sure that he would be acquitted. That might sound arrogant, but Job is pretty sure of his innocence. In other words, he rejects the changes made by Eliphaz. If you look at the charges, they make no sense, if, as we learn at the beginning of the story God is quite impressed by Job’s righteousness. So, how could things change so drastically?

                Job is sure of his innocence. What he’s not sure of is God’s presence. In verses 8 and 9 Job reveals his sense that no matter where would go, God would be absent. Or, at the very least would be hiding from Job. If he goes forward, he won’t find God. The same is true if he goes backward. If he turns to the left or the right, the same is true. So, how can he make his defense?

                The curators of the Revised Common Lectionary skip over verses 10-15, picking things up in verse 16 where Job reveals his fear of God who makes his heart faint and terrifies him. In skipping these verses, we seem to lose the context. How does Job go from feeling abandoned because God isn’t there to be found so he can give his defense to sharing his fear of God, such that he wishes he could vanish into the darkness?   

                So, let’s step back to verse 10. After complaining that God has disappeared, Job next reveals his belief that God knows how to find him. Besides that, “When he has tested me, I shall come out like gold” (Job 23:10b). Getting a gold medal sounds pretty promising, so Eliphaz’s accusations seem rather hollow, at least to Job. He continues his defense, which we don’t hear if we skip over these verses, by letting us know that he continued to hold fast to God’s steps and followed in the path set by God, never turning aside. Indeed, Job makes it clear that he is, by definition, a true follower of God’s ways. He didn’t depart from God’s commandments, and he treasured God’s words in his heart. This is a good and righteous man. Surely God recognizes this truth, even if his friends won’t admit it (Job 23:11-12).

                While Job is sure that he hasn’t done anything wrong but has remained faithful, he’s beginning to doubt that God sees things the same way. Who can dissuade God, because God is going to do what God is going to do? Job knows who he is but he’s beginning to have doubts about this God he has embraced. Therefore, in verse 15 we read: “Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him.” When we read the entire chapter, we begin to sense that Job has concluded that while he can give a good defense of his own righteousness, God might be rather capricious. If we turn back to the opening chapters, Job could be correct in his assessment. So, with that in mind, we can better understand why God might make Job’s heart faint and he might want to vanish into the darkness.

                When I read Job, I’m always left with a sense of uncertainty about the God revealed in this book. God doesn’t come off very well, but perhaps that’s not the point. Perhaps we need to listen more carefully to Job. In doing this we get the sense that it’s appropriate to argue with God. Now Job appears here to be terrified of God, and yet he also wants to stand before God and make his defense. Indeed, Job doesn’t curse God, at least to this point, but he reveals things that make it clear he has some doubts about God. So perhaps this rebellious spirit that’s on display here is an important witness to us. The problem of evil and suffering raises questions. We may never get all the answers we desire, but it’s important to ask them.

                What Job reveals is that the traditional view of how the world works is problematic at best. When it comes to vanishing into the darkness in verse 17, could there be another way of looking at Job’s response to his accuser? The New International Version translates verse 17 as: “Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.” Yes, there is fear there, but the defiance remains, at least in the way the NIV translates the verse.  I should note that in the NRSVUE footnote, we’re given an alternative translation that seems to me to make more sense and is similar to the NIV: “But I am not destroyed by the darkness; he has concealed the thick darkness from me.” God might frighten Job, but he’s not ready to back down. If we continue into chapter 24, we find that Job isn’t finished talking with God and his so-called friends. Job is perturbed in Job 24 because God doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the wicked and what they’re doing.

                Sometimes we need permission to talk back to God. The terror/fear is understandable. We understand what it’s like to stand before someone in authority, someone who has some level of power over us. I’ve stood before a judge. It was only a traffic violation, but still, it wasn’t pleasant. I’ve faced a college president who asked for my resignation and a couple of churches as well. That’s not fun either. Nevertheless, Job’s defiance offers us a model of how to engage with God without being deterred. I believe that God welcomes that response. Still, there is the challenge that the perceived silence on God’s part presents us. Yet, Job remains faithful, even if his complaint is bitter. That may be our experience from time to time.

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