God and the Mystery of Human Suffering , Part III
(unless otherwise noted, notes are from God and the Mystery of Human Suffering, by Robin Ryan)
Opening Prayer
Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, Collect for the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, pg 216).
The Book of Job
The Book of Job in the Old Testament is the most famous and sustained treatment in the Bible of the mystery of innocent suffering, and many of the great thinkers of the church have turned to it in their efforts to understand the mystery of suffering.
The setting for the book of Job is from patriarchal times (the times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) or earlier—wealth was measured in cattle and servants. Sacrifices were made directly by the person because the priesthood had not yet come into existence. Job’s three friends and the marauders belong to clans that existed in the patriarchal world.
The book was probably written between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE after the exile. Job is usually placed with Hebrew wisdom literature, which we’ve talked about (Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom, and Proverbs—practical reflection on human existence aimed at producing a good and happy life.)
The author of the book probably took an ancient folktale about a legendary wise man who was tested, found to be faithful, and subsequently rewarded for his faithfulness. (The folktale is at the beginning, 1:1-2:10) The author added a lengthy poetic section that contains a series of dialogues between Job and his friends and concludes with two long speeches from God.
Job’s friends are supporters of the doctrine of retribution. They are sure that Job’s sufferings are the result of some sin on his part. Eliphaz speaks of suffering as discipline, a correction through which God wounds but then heals us (5:17-27). Bildad offers a simple theory of retribution (8:5-6). Zophar reinforces this perspective by combining the ideas of suffering as discipline and retribution (11:13-20).
Job stands his ground and says that he is not guilty. There is some disruption of the divine order. Divine justice has been perverted. He wants to take God to court (13:18). Job clings to the hope that God will be the vindicator in his life, and his desire for vindication even takes precedence over his desire to be relieved from the suffering that he is enduring.
God finally speaks to Job out of a whirlwind (38:1) God acts as a wisdom teacher. Two long speeches direct Job to study the marvels of nature. Job is forced to acknowledge his limitation. Animals and regions of the earth that seem to have no purpose for human beings are shown to be part of God’s good creation and under God’s watchful care.
In the second speech, God points to the wild beasts—these creatures represent chaos, but they are chaotic forces that are subject to the creativity and the providence of God. God never answers Job’s questions about suffering in these speeches. God does not explain why suffering exists. And God refuses to go to court to settle the issue related to divine justice.
At the end of the second speech, Job says,
“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (42:5-6)
The Hebrew word used here for repent means “be sorry, relent, be comforted” rather than the usual verb used for “repent.”
Job is not repenting of any sin that has caused his suffering. God never accuses God of having sinned and the reader knows that Job is a righteous man.
His experience of God’s word has compelled Job to alter his perspective on the world and his own life. Job now possesses new insight into the divine through his encounter with God. He has experienced God with an intimacy that he has never before known. Job has discovered a sense of peace even in the midst of his suffering.
In the epilogue of the book, God restores Job’s fortunes. Ryan points out that “after the reader has worked through the dialogues and contemplated the speeches of God, it seems that the book should conclude simply with Job’s experience of God in the midst of suffering. Some commentators not that for the Hebrew author it was important not to leave the final word to suffering. ..the restoration of Job’s earthly fortunes, then represents the manifestation of God’s saving justice.”
Several key ideas—
A strict doctrine of retribution is inadequate to the human experience of suffering. There is such a thing as innocent suffering.
The book is a compelling expression of the place of lament in the Hebrew faith tradition. Job’s honest crying out in the face of intense suffering is an expression of his faith in the God of the covenant. Even in his darkest moments, he trusts that God will hear and respond.
The experience of God’s presence in the midst of suffering is transformative for Job. He is assured of God’s presence and God’s care for all creatures. Job, the suffering one, is granted an experience of communion with God.
A related theme in the Book of Job is the experience of the silence of God in the midst of suffering. God seems to be hidden, to have turned his face away from the innocent suffering person. (23:3. 8-9)
“Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling…If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.” This passage is quoted in the writings of the mystics and applied to the experience of the dark night of the soul.”
The Apocalyptic Perspective
This perspective was important in times of severe distress and suffering. These writings are among the latest in the OT, but you find earlier expressions of eschatology in Isaiah 24-27, 56-66, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.
“Apocalyptic is the literature of a dispossessed and oppressed people.” This way of thinking is an attempt to keep hope alive in situations of conflict and persecution by announcing a climatic intervention by God that will bring an end to suffering and vindicate the righteous. The people of Israel are to trust in God and to await God’s decisive actions on their behalf.
Apocalyptic literature is presented as a story in which a revelation is given by an otherworldly being to an earthly recipient—and the result of the story is eschatological salvation and presentation of a world that is transcendent to earthly experience.
While it looks forward to the future and the heavenly realm of hope, the intention of apocalyptic is to strengthen suffering people in the present . Present earthly circumstances are interpreted in light of the supernatural world and the future, and to influence the understanding and the behavior of the audience by means of divine authority.
Jewish apocalyptic writings arose during the period of the domination of Mediterranean world by the successors of Alexander the Great. The book of Daniel in the OT is the clearest example of this literature, written about 165 BCE and reflects the situation of the people of Israel under the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who ruled from 175 to 164 BCE. Antiochus tried to compel Jews to accept his version of worship. He prohibited observance of the Torah. People who disobeyed were martyred. This book was written before Judas Maccabeus liberated the temple in 164.
The underlying conviction of apocalyptic is that the tyranny of evil is only temporary, and before long the sovereign God will intervene in human history to vindicate the faithful and punish the wicked.
We see the theory of retribution again, but retribution is delayed to a future time, an end-time of definitive divine action. When God’s kingdom comes, the righteous will be vindicated and the wicked will be punished or annihilated. This approach preserves the justice of God by deferring rewards and punishments to the last judgment or some other divine intervention. Believers are exhorted to cling to their faith in the justice of God which even though not obvious in the present, will eventually be manifest to everyone.
Modified apocalyptic dualism—world that was created by God in now under the direction of two lesser powers, one good and the other evil. At the end, God will destroy the evil power and the suffering caused by that evil. God has ultimate sovereignty, and will intervene in the end times. This dualistic understanding suggests the possibility that evil in the world is not caused solely by human beings; the forces of evil that inflict human suffering transcend the intentions and actions of human agents alone.
This literature offers hope for believers who are experience effects of injustice with no apparent way to rectify the situation. People of faith are to hold on amidst the present suffering with the trust that God will ultimately establish justice and put an end to suffering. This message is hidden in code language that only the righteous can interpret.
“Apocalyptic does not offer an explanation as to why the sovereign God allows the forces of evil to wreak havoc in the world; it does offer a way through the suffering by counseling steadfast trust in the fidelity and justice of God. It sometimes suggests that people’s faith is purified and strengthened by endurance in the face of oppression. The final victory of God that is envisioned in apocalyptic will mean the end of suffering for the righteous and new life in the reign of God.”
Closing Prayer
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (BCP, Proper 27, pg 236)