| JOB |
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| integrity? Curse God and die!" (2:9). His friends were even crueler: they argued that Job was being punished, that he fully deserved the tragedies crashing into his life. For his part, Job struggled to do what seemed impossible: to keep on believing in a loving, fair God even though all the evidence pointed against such a God. Job on Trial It helps to htink of this book as a courtroom drama, full on long, eloquent speeches. For most of the book, Job sits in the defendant's chair listening to his friends' harangues. He knows no airtight refutations; what they say about suffering as punishment seems to make sense. Yet he also knows, deep in his soul, that they are wrong.He does not deserve the treatment he is getting. There has to be some other explanation. Like all grieving persons, Job went through emotional cycles. He whined, exploded, cajoled, and collapsed into self-pity. He agreed with his friends, then shifted positions and contradicted himself. And occasionally he came up with a statement of brilliant hope. Mainly, Job asked for one thing: an appearance by the one Person who could explain his miserable fate. He wanted to meet God himself, face to face. Eventually Job got his wish; God did show up in person. And when God finally spike, no one - not Job, nor any of his friends - was prepared for what he had to say. When We Feel Like Job Sooner or later we all find ourselves in a position somewhat like Job's. Our world seems to crumble apart. Nothing makes sense anymore. God seems distant and silent. At such moments of great crisis, each one of us is put on trial. |
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