What We Learn About God in the Book of Job

The Book of Job, like Ecclesiastes, is an oft-forgotten book; however, its message is so important. I feel that many who comment on this book focus on the wrong question. Most people would say that this book is centered on the question: Why is there suffering in the world? I argue, though, that the question that this book really deals with is this one: Who is this God who allows suffering in this world? I say this because God never tells us why there is suffering, but He does reveal much about Himself. We also learn how not to comfort someone who is suffering. But right now, I think I’ll focus on the nature of God as revealed to Job.

Job was ready to confront God. “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (23:10). But when God answers Job, the latter has nothing to say. Suddenly, Job realizes that he was wrong to question God. “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (42:3b). Yet, from this encounter, Job learns much about God and the relationship He has with his creation. For one thing, God does in fact care about Job. Eliphaz asks, “Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?” (22:2). The answer is yes. Firstly, the fact that God cares enough to respond to Job’s complaints is an outward sign that one man is very important. And we know, although Job does not, that God needs this man’s loyalty to prove Satan wrong. How Job responds to his suffering, does matter to God because it affects Him. Job learns that God is caring and yet more awesome than any other being in the universe. God made all the little details of the world. Even the smallest of creatures are important to Him. God’s ways are not man’s ways. He uses His power to confound human standards. Like Mary sings in the Magnificat, “He has shown strength with his arm: He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent empty away” (Luke 1:50-52).

Job never does find out why he suffered; however, he realizes that the God who created the heavens and the earth does not owe an answer to Job. But also, and most importantly, God sees the world in a way that Job can never see it. Because He is not bound by the limits of time and space, God knows what is best. This is what we can learn from this book. No one can explain away suffering except God; and He has chosen to keep this a secret. This may not seem fair by human standards, but this is God, and we cannot control or change Him. This is a very difficult book, but it is worth reading. Especially for us Christians, this book is of immense value; we have a God who suffered, and thus knows us intimately. We know that even Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46b). However, we know that through Christ’s suffering, we were given new life. We can be sure that God desires the best for us even if at times this may not seem so. 

It is good to be alive because God exists!!!

In the book Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, the king of Brobdingdang, a nation made up of giants, “observed how contemptible a thing was human grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as [Gulliver]: And yet, said he, I dare engage, these creatures have their titles and distinctions of honour; they contrive little nests and burrows, that they call houses and cities.”

Among these giants, suddenly Gulliver’s accomplishments are not so grand. He is angered and offended by the king’s comments, but in a way, the king is right. We are not as important as we think we are. We and everything around us are ephemeral, “a mere handbreath” (Psalm 39:5). Why is it that we place so much emphasis on what does not last, but ignore God who lasts forever? The Bible, especially the Old Testament, reminds man of who he really is.

Nowhere is this more emphasized than in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ignored by pastors and priests for its seemingly depressing message, Ecclesiastes is yet one of my favorite books in the Bible. Qoheleth, the leader of a religious assembly, starts this work with a bold and shocking exclamation: “ ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!’ What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4). The Teacher poses a very important question. What he is asking, of course, is what millions of people in the world ask themselves daily. Mainly, what is the meaning of life? What is the reason for my existence, and why is that important?

At first glance, Ecclesiastes’ message seems to echo Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy of Existentialism. Life is meaningless. Yet Sartre and Qoheleth come to very different conclusions. Sartre decides that “l’existence précède l'essence” (existence precedes essence). In other words, apart from ourselves, there is no meaning to life. We must create our own meaning to life. Sartre points out that when we first realize how insignificant we are, we fall into deep despair. This nausea, as he calls this emotional state, pervades our whole being until we come to terms with it and decide to make our own meaning to life. Notice that God does not exist. The Teacher experiences this nausea as well when he writes, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (2:17). In fact, he even sounds a bit suicidal when he says, “And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun” (4:2-3).

But Qoheleth eventually discovers the reason for his existence. It is because of God that we are living and because of Him— and only because of Him—that we can continue to live. Everything on earth, which is in fact temporary, is yet a gift from God. Because it is a gift from God, we are allowed to enjoy it. “So I commended the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun” (8:15). Qoheleth overcomes the nausea by acknowledging God and allowing Him to bring meaning to his life. Because of God, Qoheleth has been given a duty and his actions do matter. Suddenly, life is good—very good. It is a gift in fact. However, although our actions matter, they do not define us. Now, the unborn, the handicapped, and the elderly have a place in society, and they are actually living. Life has meaning apart from themselves. We must continue to recognize our dependence on God, because, yes, apart from God there is NO ultimate meaning to life. Because we place our full trust in God, we recognize that all good things come from Him, and thus, there is no place for pride in our lives. We do not need to continue to put our full and complete trust in our own works and in our material possessions that do not last. Becuase of this realization, the Teacher takes back his previous view on life. “Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!” (9:4). It is good to be alive because God exists!!! Sartre, on the other hand, argues that without continuous action a person is not living. Life is only good if you actually have the ability to make choices, and even then, there is nothing constant in our lives to protect us, love us, and give us peace.