Interpreting Job, Pt. 1: the Search for Wisdom
Job Rebuked by His Friends, by William Blake (1757–1827). from the Butts set. Public Domain.
I think it’s time we stop quoting Job’s friends.
I recall from my college years, my earliest days as a Christian, a faint but still-lasting memory. I was in the greeting card aisle of a local grocery store, thumbing through the Hallmark section. I came across a card that contained a quote from the Book of Job. Since I often carried a pocket Bible back in those days, I was able to do some quick research. In doing so, I realized that the quote was from of one of Job’s friends.
Even as a young believer, I remember thinking it a bit strange. I had read the entire Bible by that point in time, including the puzzling account of Job’s suffering. And though I was a beginner student of the Scriptures, I had at least some sense that Job’s friends may not have been the best persons to quote for a greeting card attempting to inspire comfort in sufferers. (It was one of my earlier interactions with “proof-texting,” something I would come to learn has a largely negative connotation in Christian circles.) My experience with that Hallmark greeting card prompted the question in me, even 20+ years ago: How should I/we read and interpret the biblical Book of Job?
We have a short-term goal to provide a small series of posts to help address this question. Such a response to and thoughts concerning the biblical book and person of Job will not be definitive, as there are volumes of information about this ancient work. Nevertheless, we will humbly endeavor to equip the everyday person with a perspective that is clear, accessible, and thoughtful.
As a starting point, we will agree with J.H. Walton who, in an article authored for the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, provided a general premise that the Book of Job wasn’t given to explain human suffering, but rather to “to guide the reader concerning how to think about God in the face of suffering.”(1)
In addition to this, we believe it helpful, albeit still a bit of an oversimplification, to say that the book is better thought of as a teacher of wisdom. In this way, readers are not primarily problem solvers, but rather students. And with this in mind, we now turn to the first of a number of considerations when endeavoring to read and interpret this masterful work of ancient literature.
1. REMEMBER THE GENRE.
This point will be the primary focus of this particular post.
It is often and easily forgotten that, alongside Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the Book of Job is part of what is traditionally known as the “wisdom literature” of the Bible. This means many, many things for readers, one of which is that we ought to approach it and read it a bit differently—on its own terms. To get an idea of what I mean, consider these closing words from the “Preacher” of the Book of Ecclesiastes which, again, is another work of biblical wisdom literature:
In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of the wise are like goads, and masters of these collections are like driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (12:9-14, NASB)
In one breath, we are reminded that the pursuit of wisdom is a provocation of both the delightful and the laborious, both an endless endeavor and summed up with a single statement: “fear God and keep His commandments” (12:13). Even that prior sentence is in itself a sincere attempt at wisdom, for we very intentionally use the words “both” and “and” in forming it.
There are certainly things that are “black-and-white” when it comes to life. The Bible uses words in this way, such as: good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness, heaven and hell, saved and unsaved, light and dark, innocent and guilty, etc. And yet, the Lord has with divine wisdom also placed wisdom literature in His Word. But why?
Child’s Play. To address the question, at least in part, I ask readers to consider the example of children and stories. When my kids were younger, they heard/read stories and watched movies differently than they do now. In their earliest years, they thought in categories that led them to conclusions like: [character A] is the “good guy” and [character B] is the “bad guy.” We don’t fault them for this, as it is simply a developmental thing. The problem comes when adults continue in this because, among many things, it lacks the maturity and skillfulness of nuance.
Children must grow up and develop with time a sense of wisdom. They should move beyond simplistic conclusions and start making observations like: [character A] is the protagonist of the story, and yet he has some major character flaws; and [character B] is the antagonist of the story, but I also feel sad about his tragic backstory; it seems that both characters possess both good and bad qualities. Further, we may read a story or watch a movie and come to the conclusion that the person we once thought was the protagonist is actually a serious antagonist, a veritable wolf-in-sheep’s clothing—we were fooled! But we learn from it. Further still, perhaps one reader sees a protagonist, while the other sees an antagonist; and maybe each has valid reasons for saying so.
Sure, it’s an oversimplification to some extent. And still, the point remains—
With age should come wisdom. And with age-and-wisdom should come the ability to think about ideas, people, and situations with greater complexity, skillfulness, and nuance.
Wise Readers. Coming to the Book of Job is no different in many ways. A childish reading and understanding of the story of Job, his sufferings, his interactions with others and with God—such will likely lead to conclusions that fail to reflect wisdom, maturity, and nuance. So in a way, it makes sense that I read the book differently in my 20’s than I do in my 40’s.
There has been a shift in my focus, away from questions like, “How can I solve this?” Instead, I lean towards greater question(s), “What can I learn from this? How can I become wiser?” To put it another way, we become wiser readers and ask less the question, “Why is Job suffering?” and we focus more on questions like: “How can I better understand Job’s suffering and how it is affecting him? What would a wise person (or friend) do in this situation?”
Consider the following biblical Proverbs as guides and brief examples—
The wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it,
But the discipline of fools is foolishness. (16:21-22, NASB)One who withholds his words has knowledge,
And one who has a cool spirit is a person of understanding.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. (17:27-28, NASB)Before destruction the heart of a person is haughty,
But humility goes before honor.
One who gives an answer before he hears,
It is foolishness and shame to him. (18:12-13, NASB)Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness,
Or you will also be like him.
Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves,
So that he will not be wise in his own eyes. (26:4-5, NASB)
By these eight verses alone, the heart can be instructed in a number of ways about discerning and exercising wisdom, including when encountering the suffering of others. This means that a one-time or, otherwise, a mere surface-level reading of the Book of Job will scarcely lead readers to discovering the treasures of wisdom therein. Wisdom warns that a quick response may not be the right one, that even a fool can practice wisdom by being slow to speak (e.g. Proverbs 17:27-28).
Do we do the same when we read the account of Job?
Wisdom requires time, patience, skill, and nuance. Interestingly enough, these are the very things that Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite lacked in their interactions with their suffering friend. (We will touch on Elihu at another time.) And their lack of such things led to the additional injury of their friend, to such a degree that the Lord was ready to kill them unless Job made a sacrifice and prayer of intercession for them.
So imagine a reading of the Book of Job as being invited give your input about his great suffering. Imagine it as though the Scriptures are giving you a seat at the table; a window into the situation, into the characters and their words, and even into the ways of the Lord God—and then you are asked, “What do you think? What is wisdom? Who do you think is being wise? Why?”
Drawing this post to a close, we reflect on the ever-important question: So what?
For the sake of our work on behalf of the “Friend of Job” website, we remind ourselves that “encouraging sinners, servants, and sufferers with the friendship of God” will not be possible without wisdom. We remind ourselves that the suffering of others is not our puzzle or riddle to solve—admittedly, I can have challenges with this—nor is it something that we have to “make sense of” for our own sakes or anyone else’s. We remind ourselves of the wisdom of timely speech, and not to meet people in the midst of their suffering with Hallmark greeting card responses.
Spoiler alert: our posts will not speak well of Job’s friends. God didn’t. The Scriptures didn’t. And at least one of the reasons for that is because they behaved foolishly. Despite their the appearance of words of a deep, mature, and religious tenor, our conclusion is that they thought, spoke, and even acted like children. And they were responded to accordingly. We do well do learn from it.
With God’s help and by His grace, we will desire and endeavor for blog posts that will help free readers from the terrible burden of feeling of “fixing” another’s suffering. Instead, may the Lord use our work to equip His people to become the kind of persons who are a true friends of Job. Ultimately, we believe that true Friend is God Himself. And yet, what a gift that He trains our hands and hearts and tongues with wisdom so that we can participate in that work on this earth.
Stay tuned for further posts to come:
2. Remember the testimony of the narrator.
3. Remember the testimony of the Lord.
4. Remember the testimony of Scripture.
5. Remember the testimony of Job.
6. And more!
Sources:
(1) J. H. Walton, “Job 1: Book Of,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), 333.