Adler and Wolff suggest in their “Great Books” introduction to the Old Testament book of Job (Britannica, 1959 V.1), that the purpose of this wisdom literature is not to answer accusations of God’s justice or injustice toward the righteous and wicked. Instead, the account seeks to answer the question of appearances; that is, of apparent justice or injustice toward those who appear to be righteous or wicked. Is God capricious? Is divine justice the same as human justice? Must God reward or punish now, or does He reserve the right to wait? What do we truly deserve from God? Do we truly see as God sees? What’s wrong with submitting to God’s will without fully understanding it? Spoiler alert: the answer to every question is found in Job 40:2. A few observations:
We are privy to information Job does not have: God limits Satan to “touch all he has” (1:12) along with his body short of taking his life (2:6), two wagers that Satan designs to tempt Job to curse God to His face (1:11; 2:5). It appears to Job that his world is coming apart, yet “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong” (1:20). Questioning his integrity, after everything is gone and his health plunges, Job’s wife sounds like Satan himself, enticing Job to “curse God and die” (2:9).
Job looks for death to find everlasting rest from suffering knowing his conscience is clear before God (6:10; 7:20; 27:1-4). The difference between a fallen tree and a dead man is the tree will sprout again from roots (24:7-9). The dead man dies to the pains of this life and will live again only because God changes him (14:14), redeemed into a new life (19:25-26). This is Job’s greatest hope (cf. Col. 3:1-4).
Wisdom and understanding describe the way God formed and rules The Universe (Chapter 28). There is much to learn, so to gain wisdom and understanding, we must start where God is (28:25). Doing this, Job’s final words are “I don’t understand everything, but I trust You.” (42:3). If he sinned in word or thought, “I repent in dust and ashes” (42:6). God restores all that was lost after God chastises Job’s friends (42:7) and Job prays for them.
