My Bible reading has brought me recently to the book of Job. Not exactly light reading, if you know what I mean. Job is not the first place you would go in the Bible if you are looking for encouragement, though reading about what happened to Job can remind us to be thankful that things in our life are not as bad as they could be.
For those who analyze the Bible from a literary standpoint, Job is among the best of the biblical books in terms of literary excellence. I hadn’t looked at Job in depth for quite some time, but as I get back into it, it is obvious why literary critics have respect for the book. The language is elegant and vivid, and the similes and metaphors are unique and creative. On an existential level, the book is profound and brutally authentic.
One might even get the impression that the book of Job is so authentic that it was a strange book for God to have included in the Bible. Job pulls no punches as he questions and criticizes God. He doesn’t spout off shallow clichés to make God look good. Through Job’s mouth God lays bare some of the most challenging and persistent objections to His justice and goodness, objections that resound for contemporary readers (though the book may actually be the oldest in all the Scripture). God’s answer to Job, which comes as a barrage of questions that highlight His transcendence (Job 38–44), is powerful but less direct than we might like. If God wanted to hide from His critics, it might have been easier for Him just to strike Job from the record.
But God doesn’t need to hide from His critics, and maybe that’s exactly why the book of Job is in the Bible. The book of Job shows that God is not intimidated by our questions and our doubts, no matter how strong and straightforward they might be. And in the end, the book’s inclusion in the canon of Scripture is a clue that the God of the Bible is real. Job questioned, doubted, and even became angry with God, and God did not run away from Job’s challenges, but broadcasted them. And that kind of confidence and willingness to relate to humans is exactly what we would expect from a God who cares deeply for us, even though He is infinitely greater than us.
—Beau Stanley
Like you, I have always wondered why God put up with the comments of Job and in effect venerated him in Scripture by allowing the Book of Job to stand. Certainly God being who He is can cause writing to be included or to be ignored. God must want us to know Him and that He likes it when we speak with Him honestly so He can answer with the same candor. God must have especially liked the honesty He found in this man and it personally gives me courage to speak freely with God. He knows our thoughts … why not speak them openly and enter the conversation forthrightly? It is what I want of my own children in their conversations with me. Relationships built on honest exchange may not feel as comfortable in the immediacy of the moment, but they are always stronger, for nothing is hidden. There is strength in such relationships and trust that transcends that which can be found in “friendships” built on platitudes.
I recently came across another book that had insights concerning the Book of Job. It is written by a scientist and discusses the animals that God mentions in Job. Each has been a special blessing to mankind. This book discusses how those blessings come about. I had not considered this information about God’s conversation with Job, and the book may be of interest to you. It is entitled “Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job” and subtitled – “How the Oldest Book in the Bible Answers Today’s Scientific Questions”. An interesting read for any who are interested in science and the Bible.
Beau,
I have never spent any considerable time reading and studying the Book of Job but your post has challenged and encouraged me to do so. As I have become more interested and passionate about Apologetics, I have discovered that intellectual arguments while important often do not address the relational issues between man and God.
Being able to point someone to a book in the Bible that writes of the struggles, doubts, objections, and questions Job had with God will help me convey the realness and openness that God desires in our relationship with Him. I feel that this may help breakdown some of the barriers people will use to deny the existense of God and address what their real concerns and issues may be ( I thinking of my nephew here.)
Blessings!!
Thanks for the thoughtful comments, gentlemen. And thank the Lord that we can have a candid dialogue with Him.