Day 234

Job 4:1–7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27

AS WE LAUNCHED ourselves into the book of Job yesterday, we observed tragedy systematically destroying Job’s life. One disaster after another left Job in a life he no longer recognized. It’s hard to imagine enduring a worse season than Job did, which made his response all the more riveting —he fell to the ground and worshiped God:

I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!

Three of Job’s closest friends traveled to be with him in his grief and anguish. They sat with him for an entire week without saying a word. This is the ancient practice of shiva. Shiva is quite beautiful. The grieving person is surrounded by love and care but is not bombarded by words. If they want to talk, then conversation happens. If they need to be silent, there is no pressure to speak. The attention isn’t on making things better or explaining them. The grief is allowed to be what it is.

Of course, in today’s reading, the conversation has begun. Job poured out the anguish of his soul, and Job’s friend Eliphaz attempted to comfort him. He essentially told Job that things happen for a reason and that if he would but trust in God, the Lord would rescue and restore him. This sentiment sounds very familiar because we say the same kinds of things when we’re attempting to be the voice of comfort. We’ll notice this throughout the book of Job. His friends will attempt to reason with Job and become increasingly agitated in their efforts because Job wants something they cannot provide. He doesn’t want human explanations that rationalize or smooth out the hard realities. What Job wants is for God to personally explain precisely what he did wrong to incur the judgment he feels he is experiencing:

The Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me. Don’t I have a right to complain?

In the coming days, we’ll experience a lot more of the conversation between Job and his friends. If we pay close attention, we’ll find ourselves on both sides of the equation. We’ll be able to identify with Job’s suffering and confusion, but we’ll also hear our own voices in the counsel that his friends offer. As the conversation turns from comfort to debate to argument, we’ll be taken through the different aspects of our own suffering and begin to wonder who is right —which is the point.

Let’s stay connected to the story of Job, for it guides us into suffering and reveals that we know far less than we think we do.

MEDITATION:

The LORD rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him. Psalm 37:39-40