This book is a peculiar piece of the genre of Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature. In the Bible, there are three books of Wisdom Literature: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Proverbs speaks of a God who is wise and just. The calculus of the book is that people get what they deserve. From Proverb to Proverb, the unrighteous sow and reap evil while the righteous sow good and harvest it as well. Yet, Ecclesiastes suggests that the world is not always fair and equitable; life is unpredictable and hard to comprehend. A question looms: Is God wise and just?

This question is explored in the Book of Job. The story takes place in an obscure land far from Israel. There is little attention given to placing the book in a particular time period. The characters are not Israelites. Keeping the place, the period, and the people generic clears the way, allowing the author to give direct focus to this question of God’s being wise and just as well as many other questions posed in the throes of suffering. 

One commentator suggests that the three questions that loom largest in the book are these:

• Is God wise and just?
• Does God operate the cosmos according to God’s justice?
• How is Job’s suffering to be explained?

The Book of Job could be viewed as a framed piece of art addressing these questions amidst others. The first two chapters are narrated prose as is the last chapter (Chapter 42). The narrated chapters serve as the frame that encases the artistic poetry of the book (Chapters 3-41). More specifically, Job 1-2 narrates a conversation between God and the Heavenly Court, then between Job and the Accuser. Then, the poetry of Job 3-26 takes up the dialogues between Job and his friends. Job 27-41 directs the reader’s attention to the poetic monologues of Job, Elihu, and God. Finally, in Job 42, the narrator’s prose concludes the book.

Job 1 begins with an introduction of Job. He is a very wealthy man with a very large family (“the greatest man amongst all the people of the East” (1:3)). Job “fears God” (this an expression for fidelity in that time). He is rich, wise, and kind—he is the textbook definition of integrity. Of Job, people would say, “That’s a good man.” “He’s a great guy!” 

And yet, Satan (in Hebrew, the word means adversary, accuser, prosecutor), after roaming the earth to and fro, questions this depiction of Job, arguing that Job only fears God because he is protected and blessed by God. As God is holding court with his counsel in this courtroom scene common in Ancient Near Eastern literature, Satan is granted permission to take away all that Job holds dear to see if he will curse God. The only requirement is that he cannot lay a finger on Job. His livestock, his home, the lives of his children and grandchildren–all is taken away–yet, Job remains faithful.

In Job 2, Satan returns to God’s court–this time he is granted permission to take away Job’s personal health and vitality. He can deal with Job directly, he must simply spare his life. From the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, Job was afflicted with painful sores (2:7). Only shards of glass provide temporary relief. Job wants to die but still does not curse God.

Then, in Chapter 3 and following, Job is visited by his three friends, and later a fourth. These four friends represent the best Ancient Near Eastern thinking regarding God, justice, suffering, and the human condition. The calculus is simple: If a human action is wise or good, then God justly rewards with blessing and success. If a human action is stupid or evil, then God justly condemns with blessing and failure. Job struggles to find himself and the given circumstances in that logic.

Then, his friends conclude, not by accusing God, but Job! Job is at fault. He must repent. Yet, Job does not see it that way. Instead, he dismisses his friends, then takes up his case with God: “I’m innocent so my suffering cannot be a divine punishment. Perhaps God is a bully? Maybe God actually orchestrates all of the injustice in this world (Job is terrified at the thought)?” 

Job then demands that God show up personally. Instead, a fourth friend, Elihu, shows up: “Perhaps God uses pain and suffering to build character or to teach people valuable lessons? Job, you are wrong to accuse God of being unjust.”

At this juncture, the dialogue terminates–all of the wisdom of the ancient world has been tapped. Now, it is God’s turn! God shows up in the whirlwindand then gives Job a whirlwind tour of Cosmos–what he sees is pretty impressive! God jests, “Job, would you like to micromanage the world, even for a day? Could you mediate precise retribution and perfectly carry out justice? Perhaps it is harder than it looks. Or perhaps you don’t fully understand my ways?”

Six weeks together during the Lenten season will not permit us to take up this wooly and wild book in its entirety. Instead, we seek to gather these Scriptures around six topics that explore the appropriate gravity we grant God in our life, and the lessons that we might learn in suffering.