| GOD SPEAKS TO JOB |
| At last, Job gets what he demanded. |
| "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" 40:2 |
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| In the span of a few days, Job experienced more tragedy than most people encounter in a lifetime. He scratched himself with shards of pottery and mourned the day he was born. He could not even suffer with dignity; he had to endure his wife's taunts and his friends' ramblings. Nothing anyone said helped him. Through it all, Job steadfastly refused to turn his back on God. He had only one request. He wanted to hear from God in person. He wanted an explanation straight from the Source. At last Job got his wish. God answered Job with a speech often quoted for its majesty and beauty. In a touch of irony, God made his entrance just as Elihu was explaining why Job could not expect a direct answer from him. Not the Expected Message Job had saved up a long list of questions, but it was God who asked the questions, not Job. "Brace yourself like a man," he began. "I will question you, and you shall answer me." Frederick Buechner sums up what follows: "God doesn't explain. He explodes. He asks Job who he thinks he is anyway. He says that to try to explain the kind of things Job wants explained would be like trying to explain Einstein to a little-neck clam." God did not need Job's or anyone else's advice on how to run the world. God's reply resembled a nature lesson more than an explanation of the problem of suffering. He pointed out, one by one, all the creations that gave him greatest pride. In short, God asked Job, "Do you want to try running the universe for a while? Go ahead, try designing an ostrich, or a mountain goat, or even a snowflake." |