Theodicy and the Book of Job
Introduction
One of humanity's biggest issues, which has been debated for generations, is the problem with suffering, especially the suffering of the righteous. Job is one of those books that confronts this issue head-on, looking at not only the source of suffering but also the fact that God allows suffering, even the suffering of the righteous. Job also alludes to the fact that God’s allowance of suffering is for a point, and it can be used to fulfill His purpose.
Introduction to Theodicy & the Problem of Suffering
Why is the problem of suffering or the existence of evil such a difficult issue? H.J. McCloskey states that the problem is a simple one to state. “The problem of evil is a very simple problem to state. There is evil in the world; yet the world is said to be the creation of a good omnipotent God. How is this possible? Surely a good omnipotent God would have made a world free of evil of any kind.”[1] Likewise Francis I. Andersen states the problem in this ways:
The argument has been expressed with philosophical clarity as follows: If God were perfectly good, he could not tolerate the existence of violence, disease, etc.; therefore there must be some limit to his ability to control such events, that is, he is not almighty. Alternatively, if God does have complete power over everything that happens, his failure to curb the wrongs that occur must be due to the fact that he does not see anything wrong in them, that is, he is not good.[2]
In his famous Dialogues concerning Natural Religions, David Hume (1711-76) writes:
Epicurus’s old questions are yet unanswered. Is he [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?”[3]
While Hume does not come right out and say that evil proves that God does not exist J. L. Mackie (1917-81) does. In his essay, “Evil and Omnipotence” he says, “In its simplest form the problem is this: God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true the third would be false. But at the same time all three are essential parts of most theological positions: the theologian, it seems, at once must adhere and cannot consistently to all three.”[4]
N.T. Wright also realizes the difficulty of this issue when he stated in his book Evil and the Justice of God, “It is easy to ‘solve’ the problem by watering down one side or the other, saying either that the world isn’t really God’s good creation or that evil isn’t really that bad after all.”[5] If someone looks outside of the Christian faith he can see there are many ways in which others explain the problem of suffering and evil. Andersen writes, “Outside such faith there are many explanations of evil, which involve a denial, or a limitation, of either God’s sovereignty or of his goodness.”[6] So it is obvious that the existence of suffering and evil has been a source of debate and conflict for many generations. The book of Job not only looks at suffering but its main point is to look at the suffering of the righteous.
Introduction to Job
To get a better understand of this problem, in the book of Job, we first must look at Job himself. The Bible describes Job as being “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”[7] Bullock states that the first description of Job (“blameless”), must refer to his relation with God, while “upright” probably deals with his behavior toward his fellow man. Bullock continues by saying, “The author further elucidates the piety of Job by reference to his priestly function on his family’s behalf (1:5)”.[8]
By looking at the first few verses of Job we already start to get a since of Job’s character and integrity. The author of Job is making sure that the reader understands the innocence of Job and that his suffering is not caused by his moral character. David J. A. Clines points out, “Job is an innocent sufferer, whose innocence is not only asserted by himself (6:30; 9:15), but is attested to by the narrator (1:1), and above all by God (1:8; 2:3; 42:7–8).”[9] Andersen also points out that the book of Job would lose its point if the righteousness of Job were not taken as genuine.[10]
Dialogue Between God and Satan
When focusing on the dialogue between God and Satan there are a few things that need to be looked at. The first thing that needs to be looked at is Satan’s question to God as well as Satan’s view of humanity. Second, the fact that Satan is the cause of suffering while God is the one who always allows suffering.
In the dialogue between God and Satan, God asks Satan if he has considered His servant Job. To this Satan replies, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?”[11] Basically, Satan is saying that the reason Job follows God is because of how much God blesses him. This way of thinking is close to the way the ancient Near East thought. Satan viewed Job’s devotion as a way to gain prosperity while the ancient Neat East view prosperity as a sign of following/pleasing God.
Not only do we get a glimpse of Satan’s questioning to God but we also get an indication of how Satan feels about humanity. When looking at Satan’s attack against Job, N.T. Wright states, “Satan is trying to get Job in his power, to demonstrate that humans are not worth God’s trouble.”[12] Also in chapter two, when Satan is once again in the presence of God, God makes an interesting statement. Concerning this statement Waters says, “It is interesting that God’s charge against Satan, ‘You incited me against him to ruin him without any reason (2:3, NIV), is a horrifying, yet enlightening look into the character of Satan. Humanity means no more to the Accuser than a vehicle for cursing God.”[13] So in these two times, where we get a glimpse of Satan, we can start to see how he views humanity and start to see just how much he disdains God’s greatest creation.
Within this dialogue we also get another interesting piece of information. We see that Satan is the cause of Job’s suffering while God is the one who allows Satan to inflict this suffering on Job. It is curious to note that most of the advocates who claim suffering or evil proves God doesn’t exist claim this is true because if He existed then He would be strong enough to stop the suffering. On the other hand Job points out that not only does God exist but He is so strong that no suffering can occur without His permission. To a nonbeliever this truth is puzzling while to a believer this truth is encouraging. This truth reassures a believer that nothing can happen to them that is outside of God’s will. Now this is only reassuring to those who truly believe God has their best interest in mind and trust that He will give them the strength to get through it.
Jobs Suffering
Once again to properly understand the story of Job’s suffering we must understand how Job suffered. Job’s suffering can be broken down into four different areas: physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.[14] We can see the physical side of Job’s suffering from the fact that Satan took Job’s health away. The social side of Job’s suffering may not be as prominent but it is still visible. Since many in Job’s culture viewed suffering as a punishment by God, the people in Job’s culture would have shunned him thinking that he did something to sin against God. We do catch a glimpse of this by looking at the way his friends treated him. Also, Job’s emotional suffering had to be significant. Job lost everything he had. Not only did he lose his health and his possessions but he also lost his children, a devastating lose to any parent. Another part of his suffering that may have been difficult to see but was very prominent was his spiritual suffering. Job was at a point of complete confusion. Everything he once knew about suffering and God has been turned upside down. Feelings of abandonment had to be plaguing his mind. But although he suffered greatly spiritually he still kept his integrity and devotion to God.
Advice from Three Friends
The main issue that needs to be brought up concerning the advice given by Job’s three friends is the false doctrine of their time. The ancient Israelites as well as Near East viewed suffering as punishment for wickedness or sin, which is often referred to as the retribution theology. If we were to sum up all three of Job’s friend’s advice they would have the same core message, “Repent and God will restore you.” The problem with this theology is that it’s just not true. There are times in which suffering is a consequence to sin but that is not the absolute. Paul Little stated, “It is clear from the teaching of both the Old and the New Testaments that suffering may be the judgment of God, but that there are many instances when it is totally unrelated to personal wrongdoing. An automatic assumption of guilt and consequent punishment is totally unwarranted.”[15] Bullock also reinforces this fact, “Indeed the friends were partly right—suffering is related to sin—but they were partly wrong, as this is not a universal rule applicable to all cases.”[16]
This kind of ideology can lead down a dangerous road. If one holds firmly to this belief then it can be easily justifiable to follow God only to get a blessing or to prosper. Waters points out, “Belief in God and subsequent service to Him would then be reduced to a prosperity/pragmatic religious formula or system of works.”[17] This kind of service and devotion would not be one that would be pleasing to God. Furthermore if Job would have surrendered to his friends acquisitions of sin and asked for forgiveness when he knew he did no wrong then Job would have only been repenting to get physical blessings from God, which would in turn make Satan’s previous accusations against Job be true. Job would only be following God because God blessed him but Job’s constant conviction of his innocence and his unwillingness to repent for something he didn’t do proved Satan’s accusations wrong.
Missio Dei
Many people have wrestled with the meaning of Job, trying to find a purpose in Job’s suffering. Some have looked at God’s response to Job as a strict warning not to question why God allows things to happen. But this kind of approach does not seem to be an adequate interpretation. Instead of taking this approach, Larry J. Waters find some reasons for Job’s suffering and he writes about it in an article called, “Missio Dei in the Book of Job.”
One of the purposes for Job’s suffering, Waters claims was to correct a wrong doctrine. As stated before the people of Job’s day had a misunderstanding on suffering, claiming that only the wicked suffered. This kind of approach needed to be changed because if not then people followed God not out of love and devotion but rather out of desire for rewards and prosperity. This is still an issue in today’s culture. Many follow Christ hoping to prosper in life; this ideology is called the “Prosperity Gospel.” But the book of Job strictly teaches against this kind of thinking. On this topic Waters quoted Peter Bloomfield:
The book of Job is also a real setback for the modern error known as the “Prosperity Gospel.”…To tell Job, “You shouldn’t be suffering, it’s not God’s will for you,” is madness because the first chapter [of Job] makes it obvious that it is God’s will. It is God’s purpose. God does have a good, wise and rational plan in everything…If you told Job, “You have a title deed to prosperity, he would laugh in your face.” If you said to Job, “If you had enough faith you could be healed, you could prosper, you are guaranteed protection, promotion, prosperity and perpetual success,” you would be repeating the same foolish advice given long ago by the prosperity preachers of Job’s day: Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.[18]
So one of the purposes of Job’s suffering was to correct a wrong doctrine. Another purpose was to enable God to use His servants experience to impact the world with His message of grace.[19] If this was truly God’s purpose for Job’s suffering then He accomplished His mission because as Waters pointed out the “knowledge of his [Job] suffering spread throughout the Near East, brought ‘wise men’ to his side, drew curious onlookers to witness his debates with the three friends, and ultimately resulted in a witness of his relationship with the Lord.”[20] Not only was God able to reach a multitude of people with a message of His grace in Job’s day but also Job’s experience has been written down for us; it is still touching thousands of people today.
God does want to make sure that people follow Him and come to Him through grace rather than through works. Human wisdom will always tell us we must approach God through works but God will always make known to us that grace is the only way God relates to His people. This was a lesson that Job finally learned and a lesson his friends learned as well.
We cannot finish looking at the story of Job and do it justice without also pointing out the fact that Job did finally receive all his possessions back plus more. If we are not careful we will fall right back into the thinking that Job received this blessing because of Job’s works rather than by God’s grace. But it must be pointed out that Job did receive a blessing from God but not until everyone had a change in perspective.[21] Not only this but we must also realize that this is not always a guarantee.[22] God never promised any of us that if we just keep strong in our faith then He will bless us in this physical world.
Modern Day Application
One of the reasons why the book of Job is so loved is because so many people put themselves in Job’s place. They see themselves suffering right along with Job and asking the same questions that Job asked. Why am I suffering? God why did you send this upon me? What did I do to deserve this? But, just as there was a purpose for Job’s suffering, there is a purpose for our suffering as well. Augustine put it this way, “For the Almighty God, who, as even the heathen acknowledge, has supreme power over all things, being Himself supremely good, would never permit the existence of anything evil among His works, if He were not so omnipotent and good that He can bring good even out of evil.”[23]
If there really are some purposes for suffering in our lives, what could those purposes be? One of the first purposes of suffering, Waters points out, could be because God desires to “bring the world into faith.”[24] A suffering believer is sometimes God’s greatest testimony to the world. C.S. Lewis put it this way. “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”[25] Not only can a suffering believer be a testimony to the world but he or she can also be a comfort to someone else. Paul makes this point clear when he says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”[26] Not only is bringing the world into faith one of God’s desires for suffering but also it is “God’s desire to bring faith into the world.”[27] In other words, a suffering believer can demonstrate how to have faith in God even in the midst of suffering.
Conclusion
The book of Job is a challenging book for a lot of people to read since it covers a topic that not only has been debated for centuries but also is probably one of humanities toughest questions. The book of Job dismantles the false doctrine about retribution as well as uses Job’s experience to touch the world with God’s grace. We might not be able to understand why we go through suffering but we can take courage in knowing that God is a God of grace and He will be by our side every step of the way.
[1] Michael L. Peterson. “Christian Theism And The Problem of Evil,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. (March, 1978): 37.
[2] Francis I. Andersen, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 14, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1976), 67.
[3] Brain Davies. Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011), 1-2.
[4] Brain Davies. Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011), 2.
[5] N. T. Wright. Evil and the Justice of God. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006), 41.
[6] Francis I. Andersen, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, 67.
[7] Job 1:1
[8] Hassell C. Bullock. Poetic Books, 103-104
[9] David J. A. Clines, Job 1–20, vol. 17, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), xxxviii.
[10] Francis I. Andersen, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, 69.
[11] Job 1:9-10
[12] N. T. Wright. Evil and the Justice of God., 69.
[13] Larry J. Waters. “Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job,” Bibliothec Sacra. (October 1997), 442.
[14] Larry J. Waters. “Missio Dei in the Book of Job.” Bibliothec Sacra. (January 2009): 24.
[15] Paul E. Little. Know Why You Believe. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2000), 172.
[16] Hassell C. Bullock. Poetic Books, 125.
[17] Larry J. Waters. “Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job”, 441.
[18] Larry J. Waters. “Missio Dei in the Book of Job”., 30.
[19] Ibid., 32.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Larry J. Waters. “Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job”, 448.
[22] Hassell C. Bullock. Poetic Books, 128.
[23] Douglas Groothuis. Christian Apologetics. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011), 638.
[24] Larry J. Waters. “Missio Dei in the Book of Job”., 33.
[25] C.S. Lewis. The Problem of Pain. (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1996), 91.
[26] 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
[27] Larry J. Waters. “Missio Dei in the Book of Job”., 34.
