It’s odd to consider Job a wisdom book, but the author seems to believe that, if we are to gain wisdom, this book is huge.
It’s a story about a guy who gets the buisness end of God, and neither Job, his judgmental friends, or the reader is given a good explanation as to why this is happening.
Sure, in the end, Job gets everything back that was taken from him, and then some. But given his suffering and loss, it hardly sounds like adequate compensation.
Worse, the whole thing comes as a dare of sorts. Satan approaches God, and suggests that Job’s righteousness is conditional; take away the blessings and Job will fall, as most of us would. God says, “you’re on,” and gives Satan permission to begin the destruction process.
Where’s the wisdom here? How does this book help us to gain some semblance of God’s perspective?
The Book of Job Explained by a Jewish Rabbi
Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz is the Rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue in Silver Spring, MD and is a law professor at the University of Maryland Law School. He is the author of “Between Civil and Religious Law; The Plight of the Agunah in American Society” (Greenwood Press).
The way the book of Job is typically explained doesn’t pare well with our contemporaty, Western, Christian culture. Rabbi Breitowitz, bringing Job’s tragedy to bear in our modern context, describes the book as a narrative that addresses the “suffering of the righteous.” To him, it is a beautiful, well written story that steps into the arena of “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”
Job is an ordinary man (maybe not Jewish, maybe fictional? but God-fearing, living a holy, virtuous life). His problem is not limited to the people of Israel, but to all of humanity. He hasn’t earned a hard time by any stretch, but gets one nonetheless.
Job’s friends show up on the scene, citing Torah, reminding him that bad things only happen to bad people, and that Job should admit his wrongdoing, and swear to never do it again.
If God were a just God, He wouldn’t let bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it. Rabbi Breitowitz calls this “conventional morality,” something that seems to appear in Torah itself.
Job dismisses his friends, turns to God, and demands an answer.
God responds with something akin to, “Who are you?” and, “I don’t owe you an answer.”
Personally, I think if God did have an answer, we wouldn’t be able to understand it. We don’t have the ken – the ability to understand. Much like we can’t explain certain things to a three year old, God can’t explain everything to us.
According to Rabbi Breitowitz, when we try to get an explanation from God in this particular area, we’re not going to get one.
Enter, mystery.
“The book of Job is not about answers, it’s about trusting that your relationship with God can exist even when things are difficult.”
Accepting a non-answer from God, while still believing he is good, is the beginning of wisdom.
The Book of Job Explained by the Bible Project
Check out the video below for another great perspective on this ancient book. The book of Job is explained on the internet, in multiple places and from multiple perspectives, but this is one of the best.
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