The Book of Job is an excellent example of presentation of a problem related to human behaviour, in dramatic form. (The Greeks were much given to using this method in attempting to arrive at solutions to human difficulties).
Act 1: The prologue—Chapters 1-2.
In this act are introduced the main characters, the problem to be considered, and the important details of the setting. It could be regarded as the most important. The conclusions we achieve regarding Job, the Adversary, the problem to be considered, etc., in the first two chapters, will determine, to considerable degree, whether we will arrive at answers that are logical and in harmony with the principles of the whole work.
Act 2: The discussion—Chapters 3-31.
Strictly speaking, this is not a discussion but a series of talks by Job and the friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. . . . each presenting their respective point of view concerning Job’s experiences.
Act 3: Chapter 32-37.
Elihu, a most important character and controversial one, occupies 6 chapters and presents a forceful and distinct point of view.
Act 4: Chapters 38-41.
Yahweh speaks from a storm, and gives two speeches.
Act 5: The Epilogue—Chapter 42.
Here we see the final solution of the problem and
“the end of the Lord, very compassionate and merciful.”
Both Prologue and Epilogue are in prose, while the rest of the Book is in poetry. In considering
the speeches, we are going to follow the suggestion of the majority of critics : that part of chapter 27 and the whole of 28 should be attributed to Zophar, for the following reasons :
- The text of this talk is in expressed thought—both preceding and succeeding this talk.
- It is in closer harmony with Zophar’s style and philosophy.
- It restores balance to t h e Book ; each of the friends speak three times — a point that is of great importance in a work where symmetry, balance and poetic style are so pronounced.
Let me add a final thought before beginning to consider our “hero.” We must arrive at conclusions regarding Job that are in harmony with, and that find a place for, every part of the book. We can be reasonably sure that if our opinion regarding Job makes Elihu’s position difficult to explain or Yahweh’s speeches redundant, then we are on the wrong track. We will find, however, if our approach is right, that each part will fall logically into place, and the Book will go forward — building up, step by step, to its tremendous conclusion–in a perfectly logical and harmonious manner.
That Job is the key to the Book is, of course, immediately apparent. He is introduced to us in the first five verses where, in five points, we are given a “thumbnail” sketch of the man, so to sneak : Character, family, wealth, standing in the community, and personal practices. Before analyzing verse one, let us briefly consider a Divine principle that is involved in this study : As we note, the statement of this verse is repeated in verse 8, as God invites the Adversary to express his opinion of Job. Are we to suppose that this quotation by God is an indication of full Divine approval of this man? Was he “perfect” and “upright” in the sight of God? It is a very serious question, and a great deal hangs upon it, for nothing less than the justice and fairness of God are involved!
We can agree, I am quite sure, that God’s dealings with men, and especially with His servants, are always constructive and related to purpose. He is never capricious, or arbitrary, as men are in their dealings with one another. If he afflicts a man or a nation, it is because there is need.
While it is true, as stated in the Epistle to the Hebrews that, “Whom the Lord loveth He chasenth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth,” this does not signify that God’s method of showing His Love is to punish. We tend to generalize in regard to this passage. It is most important to note the context of the statement, and doing so, it becomes immediately apparent that the sufferings referred to are those that have been a direct result of faithfulness.
Christ’s sufferings, for example, were not arbitrarily imposed upon Him by His Father. They were as directly related to His conduct as cause is related to effect — God permitted them, and they played their part in strengthening Him step by step for His final great test, the ordeal of crucifixion.
But we must not make the mistake of comparing Job’s sufferings to Christ’s. God’s reasons for sending dreadful afflictions upon the Nation of Israel was because of pride, rebellion, stubbornness, stiff necked perverseness—these all being Divine terms—and the objective was to turn them into the right way. Elihu makes this point in his first speech with obvious reference to Job, Ch. 33:16-28 — the objective being to “prune away pride, and turn man into the right way.”
If Job were, in the Divine perspective, a “perfect man” and, as is almost universally regarded, a man of sublime faith, then we have the utmost impossible situation of a righteous man being subjected to incredible suffering by events outside his own control, and through it, brought to the breaking point ; to a state of mind where he blasphemed against God and was, eventually, severely criticized by God Himself. It is common to say that Job showed advancement in his understanding of God, and that this was accomplished by the events he endured –but only we say that, the Book of Job doesn’t say so!
Indeed, the writer of the Book, Elihu, Yahweh and, finally, Job himself, state emphatically, and without qualification, that he spoke without perception or knowledge. We make a suggestion, therefore, (and at this point, just a suggestion) that there was in Job a flaw of character sufficiently serious from the Divine point of view, that it made him displeasing in the sight of God, and his afflictions very necessary–indeed, that his experiences were in proportion to the need.
We will suggest that the first disasters did not accomplish the Divine Will, nor the second, nor the provocation of the friends, nor the attacks of Elihu, nor God’s first speech ; but that each played its part in bringing the man finally to his knees and full repentance.
Let us take a second look at verse one. The term “upright” is quite elementary. It is frequently used to indicate a man who is honest and straightforward in his dealings with his associates. But the word “perfect” is not a true description–for in the full sense of the English word “perfect” there is no such person in the sight of God. Even Christ, when called “Good Master,” said “There is none good but God.”
There is an interesting illustration of the Hebrew word “tam”—here translated “perfect” — in Gen. 25:27, where two well-known young men are contrasted ; “Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents.” The word “quiet” is “plain” in the A.V., and it evidently suggests a man of self-restraint, and not indulging in habits that might cause reproach, subject to law.
The statement made by Paul concerning himself is very close to the meaning of the description of Job: “A Hebrew of the Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal, persecuting the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless” (Phil. 3:6).
The third point in the verse is interesting in its arrangement— “He feared God, and departed from evil,” might have been written like this : “Job was a perfect man and an upright, who departed from evil, and feared God,” but quite obviously, his self-discipline was directly related to his fear of God. It is one of the early clues to the solution of the mystery of Job, and should be remembered.
So, by the religious and moral standards of the day, Job was a perfect man, a “pillar of society,” but not from God’s standards. The brief sketch of the man Job, in the first five verses, is from the point of view of either Job himself, or of a friendly contemporary. In this writer’s judgment, it was Job’s opinion of himself.
It is most interesting to peruse Job’s talks noting the use of the words —perfect, blameless, innocent—concerning himself, and how he remembered with pride his wealth, and standing, in the community, and of how, in chapter 31, his tremendous self-discipline is shown to be directly related to his “terror of the Almighty.”
Verse one, in the Book of Job, therefore, is a standard of conduct espoused by one man, which we might call “righteousness according to law.” When God uses this statement in verse 8, of chapter one, it is to put it to the question, and in the subsequent record, to demonstrate its inadequacy. A further question emerges from the discussion between God and the Adversary — the question of motive. This we hope to deal with in the next article.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One